Young Dutch Immigrant Finds Much Of Interest In Levin Nursery

Chronicle (Levin), 29 December 1949, Page 4

Young Dutch Immigrant Finds Much Of Interest In Levin Nursery

/ ■ ... — : * A A young Dutch immigrant on a visit to Levin recently , found one of the town's nurseries an irresistible attraction. Naturally enough he lingered longest over the field in which will eventually bloom the tulips of his homeland, assessing the , value of the soil and examining the trays of the various varieties • of bulbs in the storage sheds. He was also deeply interested in genferal horticulture and anxious to learn all he could about the * running' of a New Zealand nursery.

He is 24-year-oM, Martin ZonneVeld froiii Noordwyk, which is in the tulip district of Holland. He came to New Zealand as a driver to the new" Dutch Ambassador ih New Zealand, Df. B. D. Pennink. That was 13 moixths ago. Now he is working in a nursery in the Hutt, but has his own little sectiQn of ground in which he conducts experiments in growing undfer New Zealand conditions. Already he has had success with his tulips, having imported 4000 of 15 varieties from Holland shortly after his arrival here. He plans to import more tulip bulbs an'd also hyacinths and does not anticipate any trouble in securing his requirements, as a relative is one of. the biggest exporters of bulbs in Holland.

Found Romance Too. Mr. Zonneveld's visit to Levin had its romaritie toueh* too, for he was aeeompanied by his young New Zealand wife, they having been married only three days before. Mrs. Zonneveid was previously a nurse in the Wellington Hospital. She first met her husband when he was on the staff of the Dutch Ambassador. He was then accompanying the Ambassador on a tour of the Dominion, the aim of which was to contact the next-of-kin of New Zealand ser'vicemen huried in Holland and present them with t.pho'tographs of individual graves. Mrs. Zonneveld's brother ^was a member of .the R.A.F. and in a plane which was shot down over Holland. The graves of servicemen buried in Holland were carefully tended by the Dutch people, said Mr. -Zon-

neVeld. In fact every grave was adopted by a Dutch family. Said Mrs. ZonneveM: "Before I met my husband I knew very little about gardening. Now I am as ke'en as he is and learning iyLittle Too Modest. Mr. Zonneveid thought this just a little too modest and added that now his wife actually knew nearly as much as he did. In his short period in New Zealand Mr. Zonneveid has mastered the English tongue most creditably. English was taught in Dutch schools, he sai'd, as also was Ger- i man and French, but as English was the most difficult he did not take the same interest in it until he came to New Zealand. So high was the value placed on land in Holland that not everyone was- allowed to own it, said Mr. Zonneveid. Anyone could work as a labourer, but to actually own the property one had first to obtain a dioloma, which meant much study. To conduct a retail shop a person ha'd to first obtain a licence. No one was permitted to grow a variety of lines, specialisation in either buib or root plants being the general policy. Nor were growers who supplied the export hulb market allowed to sell cut flowers. These had to be cut' and thrown away. The grower was allowed to use some himself

or give some away to. his friends, ' but the' sale of blooms brought heavy punishment and the confiscation of the bulbs by the Government. This was for the protection of those who did not export bulbs, but specialised solely on selling bloonis. Such regulations were necessary, said Mr. „ Zonneveid, because the competition was so great. General nur- • series which grew and sold all variety of plants were something entirelv new to 'him. Tulip Land Expensive. , In Holland it was very hard for a young man to start out on his own, as there was not the land to go around. Many like himself had to work on their father's land. Tulip land was very hard to obtain and brought £1,000 an acre.

In view of this tulips were planted out with the object of packing in as many as possible. He had not seen tulips in New Zealand to equal those of Holland, but he had to admi't that gladioli and daffodils seemed to grow bet- , ter here. ■ Mechanical appliances were not used by tulip growers- in Holland, the digging and weeding being done by hand. This -was considered the ■ best policy. The ground, being sandy, made this much easier -work. Every three years certain areas were taken in rotation and dug to" a depth of 24 inches. Heavy manuring , was also a secret of. good tulip growing. Cheaper Living Costs. The average wage in Holland , was £4 a week, said Mr. Zonneveid, but the cost of living was much cheaper than in New Zealand. A

48-hour week was in operation, work being carried on until _ 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The daily hours were, of course, subject to the time of year, and were longer in the summer than in the winter. Commenting on New Zealand, he said it was a pity that horticulture was . not taught to a greater extent in the schools. In Holland there were special night schools for those wishing to continue their studies in horticulture and bursaries were granted by the city and borough councils. Students learned both the theoretdcal and practical ,,- sides. He marvelled, however, at the develbpment of the industry in New Zealand in view of the fact that it was a country merely 100 years old. "I ' am anxious to learn all I can from nurservmen in New Zealand. I can tell them all about daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, but about the other plants I have a lot to learn." That with his will to work Mr. Zonneveid should have little difficulty in establishing himself in his new country is almost certain. Equally certain is it that he and others of his countrymen who may follow will, with the gTeater op~ portunities available in this country, in time return to the trade much more than thev are now seeking to learn from it.